COLTON FAUGHN

SALINE CO.— A Harrisburg woman already serving two probation sentences and who owes thousands of dollars in unpaid fines and fees has been charged with felony identity theft.

What makes the case unique is that if the woman’s boyfriend had not busted her out to police, she may have gotten away with it.

Whether or not his parole status had anything to do with his decision to turn her in or if he was just tired of her is unknown.

According to reports, on February 11 officer Nick Keltner was advised by dispatch that Wendell D. Cooper, 61, had contacted authorities about his wallet being stolen.

 Cooper told police the last time he had seen his wallet was at 5 p.m. the night before in his vehicle and that it contained $18 to $20 and several credit cards.

He told officers that he had been staying at 711 West Poplar Street with family and that approximately 9 a.m. he went to his car and saw the wallet was missing.

Cooper said he had no idea who would have taken his wallet.

Four days later, Feb. 15, officer Keltner was contacted at 8 a.m. and informed by fellow officers that during one of their investigations they discovered that Cooper’s credit card had been used at the Poplar

JANET BAIZE

Street Huck’s.

When viewed, police say that the video surveillance from Huck’s showed Janet R. Baize, 23, of 7 South Shaw St., Harrisburg, using Cooper’s card to purchase $145 worth of cigarettes.

When brought in for questioning and after being read her rights, Baize said that she simply found Cooper’s prepaid card on the ground along with Cooper’s business cards and two crumpled dollar bills.

Baize said when she called to activate the card she learned there was $200 on it.

When asked, Baize said she didn’t have any of the business cards but that the Visa card was under her bed.

Keltner transported Baize back to her residence to get the card but once there she said she couldn’t find it.

Baize was left at her residence.

A short time later Keltner was contacted later by Colton Travis Faughn, 28.

Readers may remember Faughn from his June 7, 2016 conviction for felony Domestic Battery after he threw his injured girlfriend, identified as Heather Hoffman, out the door of the trailer they shared when she expressed an interest in being taken to an area hospital because she had injured her ankle.

Faughn further made a name for himself when he earned a conviction February 23, 2016 for felony Theft when he stole a disabled elderly woman’s power chair.

He was sentenced in that case to probation for 30 months and ordered to pay $5,321 in fees, of which he still owes $5,211.

So it is unclear whether or not Faughn sought to help authorities because he is a nice guy, was worried more about his probation status than he was his girlfriend or if he just likes being a snitch.

Whatever the case, when Faughn, identifying himself as Baize’s boyfriend, made contact with Keltner at the sheriff’s department, he brought with him some of Cooper’s business cards, the Visa card Miss Baize ‘said’ she had looked for and then apparently proceeded to inform the officer where the items had been.

 Keltner returned to Baize’s residence and took her into custody on a charge of Aggravated Identity Theft. 

At the time of her most recent arrest Baize was already serving a probation sentence of 30 months, handed her May 31, 2016, following a conviction for Unlawful Possession of Methamphetamine.

In addition to the probation sentence, Baize was ordered to pay $6,190.12 of which she still owes $6,095.12.

She was also serving a probation sentence of 12 months in a separate case, handed her September 1, 2016, after she was found guilty of Domestic Battery.

She still owes $2,037 in fines and fees from that case.

No bond information was available in the case.

JOE SEPULVEDA

Moved from Hwy 145 South to South Main St., Harrisburg

SALINE CO.— A Harrisburg child molester already serving a sentence from that conviction has been arrested again.

The formal charge alleges that on November 4, 2016, Joe Michael Sepulveda, 26, of 1343 Highway 145 South Apt. C, Harrisburg, committed the offense Violation of Sex Offender Registration when he knowingly failed to register with the county sheriff’s department after being absent from his current address for three or more days, as required by the act.

Sepulveda was convicted April 25, 2012 of Criminal Sexual Abuse when he placed his penis in the vagina of the 15-year-old victim at a time when he was at least five years older than the victim.

In that case he was sentenced to probation for 30 months and ordered to pay $4,011 in fines and fees.

Sepulveda was released from police custody February 2 after a $1,000 cash bond was posted on his behalf by Meghyn McDonald, of 222 South Main St., Apt. 3, Harrisburg.

On his bond sheet, Sepulveda did not list his previous Hwy 145 address, but the address of Miss McDonald of 222 South Main St., Apt. 3, Harrisburg.

HARDIN CO. – A barge coal-loading business “near Golconda” but in Hardin County has been sued in civil court.

Knight Manufacturing Corp. has filed a Complaint for Breach of Contract against Empire Dock, Inc., claiming that Empire, which loads coal onto barges, entered into a Barge Fleeting Agreement contract on July 1, 2009, and subsequently violated the contract.

The term of the contract, Knight states, was from that date and through to December 31, 2017.

Knight claims in their complaint that pursuant to the terms of the contract, they supplied Empire with a towboat and towboat crew to be used to deliver and pick up barges at Empire’s dock, to fleet the barges, and to pump the barges.

Pursuant to the terms of the contract, Knight claims, Empire agreed to pay them for the towboat and towboat crew commencing July 1, 2009 and continuing through Dec. 31, 2017.

Knight claims they have complied with all the terms of the contract. However, despite their repeated demands for payment, Empire has “failed and refused to pay Knight since Empire’s last payment on Dec. 31, 2015, and Empire has thereby breached the contract.”

Knight also stated that “Empire has breached the contract for the additional reason that by a letter dated January 6, 2017, Empire stated that it was terminating the contract.”

Knight is asking the court to enter a judgment of $1,947,240 in prejudgment interest, costs incurred, and other and further relief as the court might find just and proper.

Knight had neglected to attach at copy of the contract (Barge Fleeting Agreement) in their initial filing on Feb. 8, and they were granted leave to file it as an amendment to the pleading.

The contract lays out why the amount Knight is seeking is so astronomical: 2015 fees outlined a Monday-to-Friday guaranteed 60-hour week at $160 per hour; hours in excess of 60 per week for services at $160 per hour, and hours in excess of 60 per week for “watch/standby” at $80 per hour.

In 2016, that went up just a little bit, to $162.50, $162.50, and $82.50 respectively.

In 2017, it went up again, but only just a little bit, to $165, $165 and $85, respectively.

Another fee of shifting of barges from the line boat to the fleet and shifting of loaded barges from the fleet to the line boat runs a charge of $450 per barge for both moves.

No first court date has been set yet, as likely the two parties are going to attempt to settle the matter out of court before incurring more cost.

GALLATIN CO. – The return of a girl who managed to convince the court in January that her son was “kidnapped” by his grandmother was affected by an order of protection against the boy’s grandfather.

Courtney Delorme Money, 26 of Equality, is at it again, claiming in a January 30 filing that her son’s grandfather, Mark Rogers of Raleigh – husband of Lisa Rodgers, who was charged with a single felony count of kidnapping in January after she tried to keep the 6-year-old boy away from his stepfather, whom the boy told authorities is abusing him – needs to be kept away from the little boy because he was “with his wife Lisa Rodgers when she was arrested for kidnapping my son.”

That’s just the first reason she used when asking for an OP. Lisa Rodgers was charged on January 12 with not returning the boy when it was time for him to end visitation with the Rodgers, and refused to give up his location so Money could take him back. The boy had had interviews with child advocacy centers and police authorities, and to a one told them that he was being abused by John Money, his stepfather, who has an extensive criminal history in neighboring Saline for abuse.

So Delorme-Money listed some more “reasons” for her OP request.

“Jan. 28 – Dustin Capeheart picked (the minor child) up from me at my mothers had him from 7:45 -9 p.m. and took him straight to Mark Rogers.

“Jan. 25 – Dustin was going to have Mark pick (the minor child) up for Dustin’s visit,” she continued to list non-OP-type excuses in her petition.

So she finally got down to her actual concern:

“I’m afraid that Dustin Capeheart is going to give Mark Rodgers his time for visitation and he will once again run off with my son with his wife Lisa Rodgers or that he will at least let her have contact with (the minor child). Lisa has been having Mark call and text me about (the minor child). Lisa has been having Mark call and text me about (the minor child) just to report back to her. On Friday night because I would not answer for Mark he called Ridgway PD to have a welfare check done at my home. It was checked and cleared.”

Delorme-Money’s attempt at impacting a situation that belongs in Family court and not a pseudo-criminal action like an OP was successful; an Emergency OP was issued.

Not to be deterred, Mark Rodgers wisely filed an answer to verified petition for OP on Feb. 15.

In this, Rodgers addressed each issue raised by Delorme-Money point by point, advising the court that he’s not engaged in any wrongdoing, nor has he done any of the things she was accusing him; rather, he was acting on behalf of the boy’s father, Dustin Capeheart (ostensibly Lisa Rodgers’ son), in helping out Capeheart with visitation with the little boy.

As of press time, there had been no setting for a future court date on the OP.

Lisa Rodgers was set for a preliminary hearing on deadline for this issue, Feb. 27.

Despite the child telling all manner of authority what was happening to him at the hand of his stepfather, no action had been taken on that case as of deadline, reaffirming the growing suspicion that state agencies in Illinois don’t really care about abused children like they claim they do…and like they spend taxpayers’ dollars on.

Disclosure continues to seek people who have watched their children or grandchildren be abused with nothing done about it by authorities.

If this has happened to you, please write to Disclosure at PO Box 83, Harrisburg, Ill., 62946.

PAIGE MEZO

SALINE CO.— A Harrisburg woman with an ever-increasing number of drug charges mounting this year has been charged with two counts of ID theft and allegedly found with drugs when she was arrested some time later.

According to court documents, on November 10, 2016, Paige R. Mezo, 26, of 1228 South Land St., Harrisburg, committed the offense of Identify Theft when she knowingly used a debit card belonging to Julie A. Pinkard with Direct Express to fraudulently obtain money and goods in the amount of $20.38.

A second count alleges that she did the same thing on the same day to fraudulently obtain goods in the amount of $123.

This isn’t Mezo’s first time in trouble with the law.

At the time of her arrest Mezo was awaiting trial in a November 12, 2016 case in which she is charged with Unlawful Possession of Methamphetamine and three counts of Unlawful Possession of a Controlled Substance (prescription medication)

The ID theft charges against Mezo were filed January 27 but she was not immediately taken into custody.

Fast forward to Jan. 31

At approximately 1:56 p.m. January 31, Harrisburg officer Brent Davis was on routine patrol, northbound on Land Street when he recognized Mezo driving a gold Lincoln passenger car with Tony Pinkard in the passenger seat.

Davis caught up with the vehicle after it had parked in the backyard at Pinkard’s residence, located at 1228 S. Land St.

The pair had exited the vehicle and were walking toward the house when Davis stepped out of his cruiser and, having double checked to see if Mezo was still wanted, explained why he was there and informed Mezo she was under arrest.

Mezo reached into her shirt, telling Davis that she was getting money out of her bra to give to Pinkard.

That’s about the time Davis said he heard a loud rustling sound said to be similar to that of a baggie or

ANTHONY PINKARD

cellophane wrapper, coming from Mezo’s chest, where her hand was buried.

Pills for Pinkard

 She proceeded to pull her hand out of her shirt and without opening it, handed the contents to Pinkard.

And that’s about the time officer Davis instructed Pinkard to show him what he had been handed.

When Tone opened his hand Davis saw a clear cellophane wrapper with eight white pills, which later tested positive for xanax.

And that’s when Davis took the package out of Pinkard’s hand and placed Mezo in handcuffs.

And as if she didn’t already have enough trouble with the ID theft, Mezo was additionally charged with Unlawful Possession of a Controlled Substance (prescription medication).

Cash bond in in ID theft case was set at $1,000 and another $1,000 cash bond was added to that for the Jan. 31 drug case.

Robert “Radar” Patton

GALLATIN CO. – A man who was instrumental in helping uncover one of the biggest stories Disclosure has ever delivered in print or online has passed away.

Robert “Radar” Patton, 60, of Shawneetown, died in the early morning of Wednesday, February 22, 2017, of what friends and family were saying was a heart attack.

Patton was the long-time Shawneetown chief of police (a little over 30 years before he retired) who was in place when former Gallatin County sheriff Raymond Martin was arrested and charged with multiple federal counts for moving pot through the county, this in May of 2009.

In the couple of years prior to the discovery, Patton was a valuable source to Disclosure in the investigation this paper was conducting into reports of Martin not only moving marijuana through the area, but also the matter of illegals coming into the county and getting registered to vote, as well as threatening folks who dared to look into his behind-the-scenes activities in Gallatin.

Patton was instrumental in pointing Disclosure to several people who had been victimized by Martin over the years, as well as successful in distancing himself from Disclosure in order for the finger of suspicion as to who was “talking” to not be pointed at him. Disclosure aided Patton in this endeavor by writing critically of him at times, so that a sense of “animosity” between the paper and the police chief might throw off anyone suspecting Patton was talking.

Patton’s obituary listed survivors as his wife of almost 38 years, Nancy Howard Patton, and two sons, Shane and John. He had been, since his retirement as police chief, coaching at Gallatin County Schools. A memorial scholarship fund has been set up in his name at the school; those wishing to donate can send those donations to the Gallatin School Scholarship Fund – Radar Patton, 5175 Hwy 13, Junction, Ill., 62954.

LAURA J. GHALYON

HARDIN CO. – An early February shooting that left a local woman dead and a child in custody as the suspect has rocked Hardin County.

Authorities haven’t been entirely clear on the status of the case as of press time, but they are still dealing with misinformation that has spread virally in the absence of officials being able to discuss it, as the alleged suspect is only 12, and authorities can’t elaborate on juvenile cases.

The incident unfolded in the early morning hours of Friday, February 10, 2017.

At 3:57 a.m., a report came in to Hardin County Sheriff’s Department that a woman was shot at a location north of the village of Cave-in-Rock, in the area known as Lamb Town.

Responding authorities upon arrival found Laura J. Ghalyon, also known as Laura Ford, 48, dead of a gunshot wound.

With her in the residence was her boyfriend, Richard Chrisman, 51, and Chrisman’s 12-year-old son.

Ghalyon had moved to the home recently in order to be a caregiver to the elder Chrisman, who had been seriously injured in a car crash in December on Route 1 at Highway 146.

The accident had put the elder Chrisman in a wheelchair, so reportedly, Ghalyon had opted to move into Chrisman’s home to help.

However, reports indicate that the 12-year-old boy in the home was more than a handful for both the elder Chrisman and Ghalyon. From the time of the accident up until the shooting, there were reported contentions with the boy. Unofficially, several reports indicate that the child acted out, and at times was out of control, prompting concern for the family…although the level to which the child allegedly took things was somewhat unexpected.

Following the shooting, however, several people were getting things turned around in the wake of it.

Authorities in Hardin told Disclosure that there were many folks who were disseminating information that the elder Chrisman had been shot as well, and was only injured and not killed. These folks asserting this pointed to the fact that Chrisman was in the wheelchair. However, authorities advised that apparently a lot of people have forgotten about the December accident, and that Chrisman’s injuries from that accident were why he was wheelchair-bound and were the reason why Ghalyon had moved in with him. Chrisman, authorities have stated, was not shot in the February 10 incident.

There were also a series of rumblings about the 12-year-old boy being the same one that had been removed from the school in Elizabethtown just a few weeks prior to the shooting.

While Sheriff JT Fricker couldn’t confirm or deny that, reports did surface about a child being taken from the school in handcuffs in mid-January, and many are convinced that this is the same child. The situation was described as a 12-year-old boy being new to the school being disruptive and threatening, and threatened the sheriff when he responded.

The Chrisman child had only recently been enrolled in the school, as he had moved in with his dad from having been with his mom in Harrisburg.

While Fricker again couldn’t confirm or deny any of it, people associated with the school advised that this was the same child, and that the day before the shooting, Ghalyon had had to go pick up the boy from the school because he’d gotten in trouble again. That incident, they advise, was the predicating event for the animosity to arise between the two again, and which is what lead to the shooting.

Officials have confirmed that the juvenile has been in court on at least two occasions since the shooting and is considered “in custody.” There has been no official word on charges, which is somewhat unusual. Even if a juvenile has been charged with a juvenile felony, generally, authorities will release that information.

New State’s Attorney Daniel Cockrum has issued two press releases, both of them mentioning that there was a person “taken into custody,” one of them stating that the person in custody was 12 years of age, neither of them listing charges.

The matter remains under investigation by Illinois State Police in District 22 Ullin, and the Hardin County Sheriff’s Office.

HARRISBURG – Residents of Harrisburg are expressing their concern to city law enforcement that someone had better do something about the nightmare of a bunch of gangsta-wannabe thugs in their midst, or someone is going to die.

Major speculation is going on among those associated with the thugs that there’s a perception of disruption in town since the “shift in direction” that the city council took on Thursday, February 16, when they removed James “Whipper” Johnson as police chief and replaced him with David Morris.

However, that might be a misplaced perception, as witnesses to the city’s most recent gang-related shooting have advised that Morris was not only the first on the scene when the shooting was called in in the early morning hours of Saturday, February 25, but he was there quickly, and was very reassuring to those at the scene as well as neighbors who were affected by the city’s latest shooting.

The latest shooting happened at about 2:30 a.m. that day and involved the same people who have been involved in what’s assessed by public officials as “gang-related activity,” despite the derision of some of the public to the effect that “there’s no gang stuff going on in Harrisburg.”

Some authorities believe there is, however. And as long as incidents that even remotely look like “gangbangers” keep happening, the premise is solid: There are some “gangs” in Harrisburg, they are rival, and if they’re not stopped, someone is going to die.

The three shot

Authorities were quiet about the identities of those shot, but nearly a dozen of their associates contacted Disclosure as soon as the situation emerged, advising who was shot and how it happened.

Photos of where the bullets landed on the morning of February 25 were taken for evidence; here, the photo shows how one of the bullets gouged the ground next to the house on the 200 block of East Dayton in Harrisburg. Some of the bullets struck the porch and sidewalk/steps of the house next door…where, it was reported, a 10-year-old boy was sleeping in the living room of the home, not eight feet from where the nearest bullet struck the house. Shown also on this page are many of the local denizens said to have been involved, either peripherally or directly, in many of the shootings in Harrisburg in the last six years. Most of them are still at large, not charged with anything recent by way of the shootings…which is causing many to opine that if something isn’t done soon, someone is going to be dead…and the way it works with the gangsta-wannabe crowd, it won’t be any of them, but instead will be an innocent bystander.

A birthday party had gone on in the day or two prior to the shooting, for one of the residents of the rental in the 200 block of East Dayton; the home is owned by Jamie Triplett, and rented by well-known local crim Marion Godsey, 52, and his girlfriend, Miranda Guadalupe Murphy (Murphy’s 33rd birthday was Feb. 23). Her two children reside with them. 

Godsey was only just last April placed on 30 months probation on a late 2011 Narcotics charge, and he’s still paying on $4,664 worth of fines and fees of a massive $6,814.30 order.

Living in a Diefenbach rental house next to Godsey is Charles “LoudPack” Williams, who has no discernible criminal history in Saline.

At the house in the overnight hours was also Bobby Evans Jr., 34, reportedly Godsey’s cousin. Evans is the local crim who owes an astronomical amount of fines and fees in a 2003 case originally charged as murder, and pled down to Aggravated Discharge of a Firearm. He’s also the man who was paralyzed from the waist down in a late December 2014 shooting incident on North Jackson Street in Harrisburg, which many believed would cool his heels a bit when it came to the gangbanger life.

The wannabe charged with paralyzing Evans is Xzavier Gibbs, now 19, and who was a juvenile when the incident took place so it’s difficult to track his multiple crimes, since some were charged as juvenile, some were charged as adult even though he was a juvenile when they were allegedly committed, and some have occurred in the last year or so and have gotten him hemmed up in big boy court.

Gibbs reportedly had, about the third week of February 2017, gotten out of Illinois Youth Center (juvie) in Harrisburg and was free to go about his criminal business…which he did, allegedly, right after an incident on the morning of Feb. 24.

Rotten Xzavier beaten

As it turned out, sources indicate that on that day, Gibbs was beaten with ball bats and shovels out in the yard of a man considered a local snitch, Dennis D. Jackson, 31, the morning before the shooting.

Jackson caught his first felony conviction in 2005, and was sentenced to six years in IDOC for moving cocaine through the county.

Since that time, he continued to get charged with and get out of every imaginable kind of crime – dope, weapons, trespassing, obstruction, home invasion. Several are still pending, years after they were charged, the most recent (2014-15) involving cocaine and violence. 

Gibbs and his brother, Ian Hamilton, have buddied up to Jackson, who is said to have been providing a measure of “protection” for them as in a “gang” circumstance. It’s termed here as “gang circumstance” because most of those who are aware that these people function in this way have stated that the bunch doesn’t operate with a gang “name” nor are they affiliated with any established gangs; they just consider themselves as such.

Jackson and others associated with this group were understandably upset with the beating inflicted on little Xzavier.

They blamed the ongoing rivalry with the Godsey/Evans bunch and began making noises about “getting back” at whomever had damaged their boay.

History of shootings since 2011

Regular readers (as well as 90 percent of Harrisburg) are familiar with the previous shootings in Harrisburg that seemed to kick off in earnest in 2011, including the one that paralyzed Evans on North Jackson south of the bypass on Dec. 28, 2014 (which actually began in Carrier Mills earlier that Sunday evening), as well as the one that took place in front of a set of apartments on West Towle Street, located

Xzavier Gibbs

Dennis Jackson

Ian Hamilton

Ramonte Scott

Jared Crawford

north of the bypass and just off Main Street.

Said to have been peripherally involved in that September 2015 situation was one Jared “Hood” Crawford, a 29-year-old Harrisburg punk who is also a convicted coke dealer from back in 2007. 

As well as those listed above, there are a number of other shootings having taken place, including on Baker Street and Granger Street (both South Granger, in the south part of town, and North Granger, just off the bypass to the south).

One of these was in a house on North Granger in June 2012, in which one woman, Aretha Coleman, was injured by a flying bullet.

As it turned out, those involved in that shooting thought her son, Ramonte Scott, was in the house (he’d been tossed out by Coleman in the previous days) and apparently they were gunning for him.

In 2013, Hamilton, at the age of 19, was involved in a shooting in town and then again in 2014, he was involved in a home invasion and attempted shooting, accused of pulling and firing a handgun on a woman holding a baby; the weapon had run out of bullets and so she and her infant were not shot.

Add in the various shootings occurring at a local bar (Los Amigos, which owners on Sunday, Feb. 26, announced that they were closing “because of all the trouble” they’ve had at the bar, a couple at some housing locations, and some random home invasions in which folks were very fortunate they were NOT shot…and the phrase “the usual suspects” starts to emerge, with the names mentioned here coming into focus.

Helping Bobby down the stairs

Charles “LoudPack” Williams and Marion Godsey were helping their buddy Bobby Evans get out of the house on East Dayton Street in the early morning hours of Feb. 25, wrangling his wheelchair down the flight of stairs at the front of the house.

Authorities haven’t said whether the group of gangbangers were waiting for the three or if they pulled up as the group was working with the wheelchair with Evans in it.

Whatever the case, the group of three were fired upon from the street, and male voices could be heard after the gunshots faded; then, report those at the scene, a white Chevy Impala with Kentucky plates sped off.

All three men were reportedly struck; Evans with a leg wound, Williams with a serious gunshot wound to the chest.

Williams was airlifted out of Harrisburg to an undisclosed trauma hospital for treatment.

Public lauds Morris

To his credit, Harrisburg Police Chief David Morris was the first on the scene after a number of people dialed 911 in the wake of the shooting.

Those present and interviewed by the chief said that he handled the situation professionally and with a great deal of calm and compassion for the victims, both the ones who were struck by gunfire, as well as the neighbors whose morning was seriously disrupted.

In speaking with the witnesses and people peripheral to the incident, nearly everyone had the same impression: That the group who attacked may have been comprised of Dennis Jackson, Jared Crawford, Xzavier Gibbs and Ramonte Scott.

Authorities, as of press time, have declined to state who it is they believe was involved in the shooting; in fact, they hadn’t even identified the victims.

However, the “persons of interest” are very well known to the public, who have also opined that these locals have become aware of the situation surrounding Morris’ ascension to the office of police chief.

For a year now, there has been a considerable amount of rancor between certain members of the Harrisburg city council and then-chief Whipper Johnson. That rancor reached a somewhat chaotic pitch on Feb. 16 when the council voted to demote Johnson and replace him with Morris.

The announcement of the change reportedly sent several of the “usual suspects” into gales of glee, as they – not the sort to follow even local politics – believed that there was an abundance of not only chaos on the council and within the police department, but also palpable animosity.

While that wasn’t necessarily the case – Johnson has told Disclosure that he’s just fine with being given his Sergeant rank back, and holds no ill will toward anyone – the local thugs reportedly are acting on rumor and innuendo alone, and it seemed that crime stepped up a notch in the week or so after the announcement that Morris was at the helm was made.

Therefore, those who were peripherally involved in the latest shooting expressed to Disclosure their gratitude toward Morris’ demeanor and professionalism…as it proves the thugs wrong.

The only thing the folks on East Dayton, North Cherry and North Mill say that they wish had happened would have been for Morris to announce whether or not the general public was at any risk from whomever it was that pulled off this shooting.

‘This will go on all summer’

But the greater concern is what will happen after this incident…because, say these folks who know all those involved or allegedly involved, it’s been going on for years, and this is just the latest volley in the back-and-forth.

“This is going to go on all summer,” predicted one woman, who told Disclosure that she moved to another section of town because of what’s going on out on the north side.

“I had to get my kids away from this,” she said the day the shooting happened. “There’s just too much risk involved and you can see why. They just roll up on a house where there’s one of them they don’t like, and they start shooting. They don’t care who else is there. They just shoot.”

Another woman who lives about three blocks south of the scene said that everybody has been making fun of the ones who shot up the scene on Towle Street a year and a half ago, claiming “they can’t hit the broad side of a barn,” a notion that, technically, might be true…but the problem, she said, is that there’s “always the possibility that someone is just sitting on their porch and it’s ‘wrong place, wrong time’ and they’re the one who catches a stray bullet in the head.”

In the meantime, those whose derision toward the notion that there are “gangs” in Harrisburg might want to talk to the folks whose lives have been completely disrupted by the ongoing battle between these groups, and look up the legal definition of “gang”…because in legalese, it works for every single one of these incidents dating back to 2011 in Harrisburg.

And in the meantime, they’d better hope that some of these naysayers aren’t among those who are charged with dealing with the thugs and wannabe-gangstas…because apparently, the gangbangers don’t care who believes they’re a “gang” or not; they’re just going to keep doing their thing because so far, they still can.

For those of us who lived through the February 29, 2012 tornado that hit Harrisburg, today's weather is feeling eerily familiar.

The national Weather Service is in agreement with that assessment: There's a tornado watch for 33 southern Illinois counties:

For those of you mobile-y challenged, those counties are included in this statement:

Hazardous Weather Outlook
National Weather Service Paducah KY
1101 AM CST Tue Feb 28 2017

ILZ075>078-080>094-INZ081-082-085>088-KYZ001>022-MOZ076-086-087-
100-107>112-114-011715-
Jefferson-Wayne IL-Edwards-Wabash-Perry IL-Franklin-Hamilton-
White-Jackson-Williamson-Saline-Gallatin-Union-Johnson-Pope-
Hardin-Alexander-Pulaski-Massac-Gibson-Pike-Posey-Vanderburgh-
Warrick-Spencer-Fulton-Hickman-Carlisle-Ballard-McCracken-Graves-
Livingston-Marshall-Calloway-Crittenden-Lyon-Trigg-Caldwell-
Union KY-Webster-Hopkins-Christian-Henderson-Daviess-McLean-
Muhlenberg-Todd-Perry MO-Bollinger-Cape Girardeau-Wayne MO-Carter-
Ripley-Butler-Stoddard-Scott-Mississippi-New Madrid-
1101 AM CST Tue Feb 28 2017

...Outbreak of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes possible tonight
into early Wednesday...

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of southern
Illinois, southwest Indiana, western Kentucky, and southeast
Missouri.

.DAY ONE...Today and Tonight

An outbreak of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes appears
increasingly likely tonight into early Wednesday. The primary
hazards will be isolated tornadoes and large hail. There is a
moderate risk of severe thunderstorms for much of our region.

The potential exists for an outbreak of tornadoes, including some
strong tornadoes. Supercell thunderstorms capable of very large
hail and destructive winds will progress northeast at very rapid
speeds. Very heavy downpours could result in localized flash
flooding.

The potential for severe storms will begin to increase very late
this afternoon and evening, mainly over southeast Missouri. The
time frame for the most widespread and intense activity appears to
be mainly from 11 pm through daybreak.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Wednesday through Monday

Organized severe storms will likely be continuing through early
Wednesday morning. The storms will rapidly diminish from west to
east as a cold front passes in the morning.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Activation of spotters is likely tonight.

So be on your guard, readers....Mardi Gras might end somewhat stormily...

SALINE CO., Ill. - Illinois State Police District 19 Commander Captain Cory Ristvedt has announced the results of an Alcohol Countermeasure Enforcement (ACE) patrol in Saline County during February.

These ACE patrols allowed the ISP to focus on preventing, detecting and taking enforcement action in response to violations associated with impaired driving and illegal transportation or consumption of alcohol or drugs.

Below are the stats.

Alcohol and drug impairment is a factor in more than 30 percent of all fatal motor vehicle crashes in Illinois. There is one alcohol-related traffic fatality every 53 minutes in the United States. The ACE program allows officers to work even harder at removing dangerous DUI offenders from the road. This project is funded through the Illinois Department Transportation.

Hey errbody....we're at Volume 14, Issue 12, and you know what that means....well, okay, maybe you don't. What that means is that this is the last issue of our 14th year...and the next issue will be the first of our 15th year. Didn't think we'd last this long, didja? We did, though, and that's what counts for the thousands of those who still read us per issue...and that's what this post is for, to tell you what's in this one. This is THIS MONTH'S PRINT HEADLINES for March 2017!

Print Headline posts are a way for you to see what's in this issue, providing a hotlink directly to the article if you have an online membership to the e-Edition. They are presented in order of appearance in the paper: Front Page, Back Page (second front page), Pages 2 and 3, Features if any (usually presented on pages 12 and 13), Egypt, Heartland, Central, and Op-Ed ( a little out of place, but only so as not to distract from the news). They are presented here by dateline first (where the material in each article originated/took place), Headline with link to e-Edition, and a brief synopsis in our own snarky Disclosure style. And so now, without further ado, we present to you, THIS ISSUE'S PRINT HEADLINES.

FRONT PAGE

CLAY/EDWARDS/RICHLAND COs. - Multi-county thefts charged: The story (as best we could get it without answers to our FOIAs, at any rate) of what's happened with the area's premier alleged thief, Nathan Harmon...and how it plays into the mess that one Olney man found himself in when he allegedly shot Harmon for DOING THE EXACT THING HIS CARCASS IS SITTING IN JAIL FOR. Bonus at the end: Harmon's brother has been indicted by the feds for activity in Clay and Marion counties.

Scene of the shooting this past Saturday in Harrisburg

HARRISBURG - Northside shooting dubbed gang-related: Too many witnesses involved in this one...and they're all talking. If only the authorities would listen. We need to get rid of the gangsta-wannabe element in Harrisburg, because they're sure not getting rid of EACH OTHER.

Brandon Garecht

LAWRENCE CO. - Sex assault filed: This is probably one of the strangest stories we've ever produced. The guy on the front page, in the IDOC shots...? He's not the alleged perp. He's the alleged VICTIM. And while this whole thing might be easily explained (we give alternative possibilities at the end of the article), it's nevertheless very, very strange...no matter WHICH way it goes.

HARDIN CO. - Juvenile being held in shooting death: There's more to the story of the 12-year-old child toted off in handcuffs a couple of weeks ago after the shooting death of his dad's girlfriend. We've got it.

BACK PAGE

Zac Leaf

RICHLAND/CLAY COs. - Accused child molester tries new ID: As if things couldn't get any weirder with shyster and accused sex perv Zac Leaf, now he's apparently going by another name on Fecesbook (where a lot of his alleged perv activity has gone on) and the authorities have figured that out and added that name to his Richland County charges. And for those who are apparently confused by some of the wording of the article, cmon....we found out this stuff at the very last minute and the information was so fresh and coming in so quickly, we put it together FAST...if it reads clumsily, that's why. But read carefully. This could get really big, really fast.

Robert “Radar” Patton

GALLATIN CO. - Former Shawneetown police chief dies: Our tribute to Radar Patton, who was instrumental in helping us get about uncovering Raymond Martin's bad doings, all the way back to 2006. A lot of people didn't know that. And that's actually to our credit...if you look at the "about" page, you'll see how we reference our sources, stating that "if you knew who they were, you'd crap." Radar was one of them. Get to crapping...because you could be sitting next to an official source for us and may never know until they're gone ^_^

CLAY CO. - Clay County death reported as suicide: Aside from two people in Clay County naming their criminal sons "Jesse Carpenter" which resulted in a mugshot mix up, we're the only ones who are telling about Carpenter's suicide. We'll correct the pic as soon as we can...can't do anything about what's in the hard copy though.

PAGE 2

Jason L. Frederick and Kayla Kimberlin

RICHLAND CO. - Dysfunction abounds: Crims battle over kid in OP: We've figured out why there are entire generations of criminals traipsing through the court system in southern Illinois. This would be it.

PAGE 3

Kevin Ray Frutiger

Briefs from around the Disclosure area: A very popular way to give updates on cases in short presentations, and from all over the place. Don't miss this one.

EGYPT

PAIGE MEZO

SALINE CO. - Bra stash leads to drug charges and jail for ID theft suspect: Clothing is so tight these days, where ELSE ya gonna put yer stash?

GALLATIN CO. - Contention continues in 'child kidnapping' in Gallatin County: Crazy crap like this going on is why we need new laws in Illinois...if the current agencies that "advocate for the child" aren't going to carry out their stated mission. And in this case, they haven't yet.

HARDIN CO. - Coal barge business files suit in Hardin Co.: Big civil case in Hardin having to do with one of the county's major industries: Moving coal.

JOE SEPULVEDA

SALINE CO. - Harrisburg child molester busted for not registering: Apparently these young offenders don't get it that they are beholden to the state government for like the REST OF THEIR LIFE....

SALINE CO. - Boyfriend drops dime over stolen credit card and sends girlfriend to jail: What a loving guy!!

GALLATIN CO. - Civil no-contact order issued after bad date and paranoia: Have I mentioned that we have a lot of weird articles in this issue?

HARDIN CO. - Elizabethtown woman gets probation for beating boyfriend's daughter: Nobody should have to put up with their significant other physically abusing their kid. This dad, to his credit, did not.

SALINE CO. - Three kiddy prison inmates charged with violence against corrections employees: It really is a dangerous job out at IYC. Not for Bill Peyton, maybe (unless you consider the sexual harassment lawsuits) but yeah...for just about everybody else.

GALLATIN CO. - Handful of misdemeanors in Gallatin, some silly: Sometimes, misdemeanors are just amusing. This would be one of those times.

Michael Bonneville

SALINE CO. - Son charged with stealing from his mom, gambling her money away: This one just left us aghast here. The public school system has done a fine job creating little drones who can't think for themselves and will be in their 30s sponging off their parents until their parents aren't around anymore....what THEIR kids are going to do, however, is a nightmare I'm kinda glad I'm not gonna be around for. Maybe.

GALLATIN CO. - Two Norris City, one Junction driver charged with DUI: Gallatin usually has quite a few DUIs; this time is no exception.

HARDIN CO. - Hardin general crim report filled with theft, weapons and DUI: The headline says it all.

GALLATIN CO. - Equality pair charged in 2016 beating case: Doug, cleaning up the reports one at a time. Now if he'd just dismiss Lisa Rodgers' charge.

SALINE CO. - Pills and needles land trio behind bars following Lovers Lane traffic stop - One a confessed morphine IV user: Opiates are alive and well and being abused in Harrisburg.

SALINE CO. - Four charged with not taking rented stuff back to Rent One: People are having to get serious on what's known locally as "deadbeats"...

Joseph Robert Carrier

SALINE CO. - Carrier Mills man charged with threatening to kill village's chief of police: He probably wasn't serious...just mad.

SALINE CO. - Charged with taking disabled woman's pills and debit card: Low-end people to do this to the disabled...and then, there are the Special Olympics candy bars.

SALINE CO. - Sonic cook busted after leaving suspected drug house: Dang. And we like Sonic, too.

Caleb Boatright. Btw, 1974 called. They want their hairstyle back.

SALINE CO. - Suspected teen drug dealer charged with coaxing 14-year-old to send him nude pics: Our opinion..? The person who takes nude pics of him- or herself should ALSO be charged, with trafficking child porn. A couple dozen of these and maybe we'll get these idiot kids to STOP IT.

PATRICIA CARAWAY

SALINE CO. - Elderly woman whacks hubby in head with guitar, police say: Hey. If you're gonna whack, make it a solid whack. Just...don't ruin the instrument. (and at least, in her mug, she seems happy about it...)

SALINE CO. - Forgery looms large, along with burglary and theft in Saline general crim report: Seems like forgery ends up happening a lot about a month after the Christmas presents bills come due on the credit cards.

HARDIN CO. - County employee's ex charged with OP violation: Amber DeGrave's hubby just can't get it that he's not wanted.

HEARTLAND

Zak Yarber

JASPER CO. - Following up on major Jasper sex, violence cases: Exactly what the headline says; this is a follow up on three cases, in particular, Eric Lamb, Zakkary Yarber and Eugene Ochs.

CRAWFORD CO. - Did OP prompt plea in false report case? Melvin Christine. We'll probably be hearing from him after this case.

JASPER CO. - Oblong man charged with drunk ramping: Case covered upon ISP's issuance of info when it happened; here's the follow up.

CRAWFORD CO. - Drug felon facing meth possession charge: She just can't give it up.

Jody/Jodi/Jodie Stifle

CRAWFORD CO. - Stifle leads misdemeanor report for Crawford: Nice pic of Jody/Jodi/Jodie Stifle...from DOC, which is where he belongs.

CLARK CO. - After reversal at appellate level, park district votes to pay Watchdogs for costs of lawsuit: Not like they had a choice...but it's nice that they followed through. And now, voters had better follow through, because the Clark County Park District is a costly batch of people who don't understand the law as it applies to them.

Roberto Antonio Palacios. Here all the way from Panama City. Where he apparently left his chin.

CRAWFORD CO. - Oblong woman accused of delivering pills to Panama City man: In this article we post the question: What is Mr. Palacios doing up here from Panama City...? Has nothing to do with his hispanic name. We just think that anybody who lives in Florida is kinda nuts to move to Illinois.

CENTRAL

David Joseph “Prozac” Przygocki

LAWRENCE CO. - Lawrence County lawmen and new prosecutor strike drug community: The return of Prozac, who, just a couple of weeks ago, was spreading around the rumor that his body had been found in the river. Don't know how that works, but...meth.

Leontorez M. Day. Back for round...202, apparently.

RICHLAND CO. - Police: Violent Olney man beats girlfriend, tosses her out the door: The violence report from the RC.

WABASH CO. - Mt. Carmel man charged by AG with $10,000 public aid fraud: More and more of this being charged...and we're glad to see it.

WABASH CO. - 143 xanax tablets seized in single Mt. Carmel drug bust: Hey, at least they're not flushing them down the toilet which ultimately gets into our water supply, right?

RICHLAND CO. - Sex offender caught near elementary school twice: Not once. Twice.

EDWARDS CO. - Grayville man nabbed for boosting drone from local Casey's store: Now that drones are affordable, every wannabe pilot has one. This guy apparently didn't find them that affordable, however.

HAMILTON CO. - McLeansboro woman facing drug charges following traffic stop: The dope report from HamCo.

WABASH CO. - Violent offender against children busted again: Did you know there was a classification for "violent offender against children"? they're labeled right up there with sex offenders. And in my opinion, there aren't enough of them being caught.

WHITE CO. - Enfield drug dealer charged with attacking woman with bottle of rum: NOT THE RUM!!!

CLAY CO. - Valentine's Day arrests lands Effingham couple behind bars: Oh, just traveling down to Clay County to beat on my spouse and destroy Valentine's Day 2017...

EDWARDS CO. - Two charged with beating Albion man: The EC violence report.

RICHLAND CO. - Salem, Olney men charged in drug dealing arrest: And the Salem worms come squirming over to Snitchland County...

WABASH CO. - BB gun armed robbery charged with felony: Well...it worked with Ryan Tennis; might's well try it with a BB-gun toter.

WHITE CO. - Kentucky man charged with separate sex crimes: And Denton Aud's doing something about it.

CLAY CO. - Flora man charged with beating/seriously injuring child: At least in Clay County, they prosecute this kind of stuff....

OP-ED

COLUMNS
SURLY & UNCOOPERATIVE (Jack): WAR ON FREE SPEECH KICKS UP A NOTCH (You don't get to see this on e-Edition. We're sorry...but it's an internet thing. Has to do with something that's made very clear in the piece. If you want to read this, you'll have to get the print version exclusively. Blame the way things are going in this country...and understand that it's only going to get worse from here.
ICY (Ang): 'Making a better life' - cover for something?
MINKUS INK (Bubba): Campaign promises being fulfilled sparks YEOWing

VOICE OF THE PEOPLE (Letters)

And that's it! Hurry out and get this issue...on stands ONLY until March 15, when the Election Edition hits the stands!

FRANKLIN CO., Ill. - Everyone's latest excuse for a "cause" has been able to post an undisclosed amount of bond to be released from federal detention and come back to West Frankfort from a hearing in Kansas City.

Juan Carlos Hernandez Pacheco is back in WF where he's been residing illegally for about 20 years, according to reports that are actually quoting him as saying he acknowledges he's here illegally...which is a federal felony.

But that doesn't stop the leftwing "causes" group. Apparently, there are just some federal laws that they think it's just fine to not follow, and illegal immigration is one of them.

A somewhat rabid bunch have knocked themselves out to provide the REAL story here, which is that even in downstate Illinois, where most people have sense (as displayed in the most recent election), a small group can rouse rabble. Jumping on mainstream media's anti-Trump rhetoric, people are "signing online petitions," "writing letters of support to federal authorities," and other useless activity "in support" of the illegal. I say "useless," because the feds don't care. They have a job to do, and if Pacheco is illegal (and he is) and his status and situation doesn't meet their standards, it's not going to matter a whit to the feds - anymore than it did in the case of Raymond Martin, who was "a great guy" - when people wrote letters of support for him in 2011 while his sentence was under appeal. The feds are going to do what the feds are going to do.

Which, again, is the real story here - people not understanding that the law is the law. So many people have aided in diluting the law (and mainstream media is the biggest culprit; but activist judges don't help, what with "case law" and everything) that it's like no one understands that being in a country illegally is a CRIME. Sad that it takes committing ANOTHER crime to bring attention to the initial crime (in the case of this illegal, the crimes of DUI 10 years ago were what got him "flagged"), but that's how bad it's gotten over the last 17-18 years or so.

But worse, as of this morning, mainstream radio, always the one to soak up the libwhack sentiment for regurgitation to the unsuspecting populace, added a line to the end of their pablum that placed the blame at the current president's feet without actually going the distance to say it: "The administration of President Donald Trump has been clamping down on immigrants living in the U.S. illegally."

While that's one of the president's campaign promises that he's planning on keeping (and which fact has absolutely blown the minds of the leftwhacks out in the ozone of la la land and "errbody jess needs ta git ALAWNG!!" aka globalism), the particular roundup that caught West Frankfort's illegal had nothing to do with Trump. That February 9 roundup was something that was planned as as part of an operation going on nationwide and had been scheduled out many months before...by the Obama administration. These were regular operations carried out under the O admin and the "flagging" of such things as DUIs and other serious criminal matters was a directive by the leftwhack's beloved "anything goes" prez.

But you can't tell MSM that. They've got their bias, and they're sticking to it.

Just for the record...and maybe read this out loud if you're a progleftwhack, so you can hear it, and speak s-l-o-w-l-y: It is a felony for a person from another country to be in the U.S. illegally. A felony is a crime. Ergo, being an illegal is a crime. Regardless of what "a great guy" a person might be, if they are committing a felony, you need to take that into consideration. You don't see people rallying around meth dealers or rapists or child pornographers. Don't even say "Eeyut's nawt thuh saym THANG!!" In the eyes of the law, a crime is a crime, and there are procedures that must be followed to ensure that crime is dealt with, including punishment. In the case of dopers or violent people, often that means lengthy prison sentences. In the case of illegals, that usually means deportation. Your letters of support don't change the crime; they're not going to change the minds of those who are tasked with dealing with crime. Your catchy phrases like "No human is illegal" are not only inaccurate, but immaterial. And blaming this on a president who is attempting to re-establish the rule of law in this country after so many decades of it being ignored is the epitome of ignorant...and probably should be enough to arouse suspicion in the minds of those tasked with keeping law and order in this country. Because what ELSE do you think "isn't a crime" and you're carrying it out yourself? The proglefties want boys to be able to use girls' bathrooms in schools and vice versa, as an example. How bad are their little social science experiments going to get?

Let's hope that the law is enforced and this ridiculousness can settle down. "Hispanic" is not a race, so it's not "racism;" being in a country illegally is a crime; and people who understand these two facts should not be victimized as "rednecks who voted for Trump," like some are being characterized.

It's THE LAW. And it needs enforced. And now is the time to get that done.

The incident on Civic Circle in Marion

MARION, Ill. - We collected quite a few police reports from Marion city PD this week because every time a batch was sent to us, we were dealing with things like deliveries, tornadoes, or family issues related to tornadoes. So here is the report for the time period covering February 17 through March 1, 2017.

Jordan Bevely, 27 of Johnston City has been issued a citation for Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol on February 17, in the 3300 block of W DeYoung St.

Jonathon Garrison, 27 of Marion has been arrested for Possession of Controlled Substance, Possession of a Weapon by a Felon and Possession of a Defaced Firearm in the 500 block of S Calumet St on February 22.

Daniel Morgan, 45 of Herrin has been arrested for being in Possession of Stolen Property on February 22.

Kasandra Duncan, 33 of Alto Pass has been arrested for Operating an Uninsured Motor Vehicle, Defective Windshield, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and Possession of Methamphetamines on February 23, at the intersection of Longstreet and N Court St.

John Reed, II, 48 of Creal Springs has been arrested for Possession of Methamphetamines and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia on February 23, in the 1500 block of W DeYoung St.

Bryan Hope, 46 of Creal Springs has been issued citations for Disobeying a Traffic Control Device, 2 counts of Driving Under the Influence and Failure to Signal in the area of W DeYoung St and Halfway Rd on February 23.

Stephen Powless, 47 of Carbondale has been issued a citation for Battery at Huck’s located in the 2700 block of W Main St on February 23.

Blake Mays, 33 of Mt. Vernon has been issued citations in the 2600 block of W DeYoung St for Disorderly Conduct and Resisting a Police Officer on February 24.

Ryan Crawford, 31 of Mattoon has been arrested for Criminal Trespass to Property on February 24, 2017 in the 1000 block of W DeYoung St February 24.

Joelene Deming, 23 of Marion has been arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance on February 24.

Datrell Neal, 22 of Marion has been issued citations in the area of N State St and Red Row for Disobeying a Stop Sign, Driving While License Suspended and Operating an Uninsured Motor Vehicle on February 24.

Jessica Schultz, 31 of Herrin has been arrested for Retail Theft at Target on February 25.

Kyla Jones, 24 of Herrin has been arrested for Operating a Vehicle without Headlights, Illegal Transportation of Alcohol and Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol in the area of W Main St and S Holland St on February 25.

Ethan Steele, 21 of Marion has been arrested for Possession of Cannabis with Intent to Deliver in the area of Halfway Rd and Christian Dr on February 25.

Cody Parrish, 28 of Marion has been arrested for Domestic Battery in the 1700 block of Castleberry Dr. on February 26.

Antonio Brown, 27 of Marion has been arrested in the 1800 block of Bittle Place for Domestic Battery on February 26, 2017.

Justin Miller, 28 of Marion has been arrested for Disorderly Conduct in the 500 block of E Allen St on February 27.

Jason Jarrett, 44 of Marion has been arrested for Disorderly Conduct at Kroger’s on February 27.

Brandon Humphrey, 27 of Marion has been arrested for Armed Robbery on February 27 in the 300 block of N Otis St.

Bryan Baker, 43 of Marion has been arrested for Possession of Methamphetamines in the 400 block of S Calumet St on February 27.

James Avant, 22 of Marion has been arrested for Intimidation and Disorderly Conduct on February 27 in the 500 block of E Allen St.

Matthew Walker, 27 of Marion has been issued a citation for Possession of Cannabis on February 27 in the 200 block of W Main St.

Phillip Bowles, 41 of Marion has been issued a citation for Retail Theft at Kroger’s on February 27.

A one-vehicle accident (shown above) was reported on February 27 in the area of Civic Circle Boulevard and Sioux Dr. The driver lost control of the vehicle and struck a tree. The driver was air lifted for treatment and is recovering; a passenger in the vehicle suffer minor injuries, no citations were issued.

Anthony Martin, 29 of Herrin has been arrested in the 1800 block of Bittle Place for Possession of Methamphetamines on February 28.

Brian Shirrell, 45 of Marion has been issued citations for Driving While License Revoked, Operating a Vehicle While Registration Revoked and Operating an Uninsured Motor Vehicle in the area of Russell St and Chestnut St on February 28.

Chad Kavis, 32 of Marion has been arrested for Criminal Damage to Property at Martini Joes’ located on E Main St on February 28.

Jessica Wade, 25 of Johnston City has been arrested for Disorderly Conduct in the 700 block of N Pine St on March 1.

Greg Fritcher Jr, 40 of Marion has been arrested for Threatening a Police Officer on March 1, in the 1000 block of Elm St.

Robert Pearson, 38 of Marion has been arrested for Criminal Trespass to Vehicles and Vehicle Burglary in the area of S Holland St and W Main on March 1.

Nicholas Eastwood, 34 of Marion has been arrested for Disorderly Conduct-Misuse of 911 on March 1, in the 1200 block of E Boyton St.

Robert Ashby, 45 of Marion has been arrested for Possession of Controlled Substance, Disorderly Conduct and Threatening a Public Official in the 1300 block of Enterprise Way on March 1.

ILLINOIS - The National Weather Service has released information about the tornadoes and storms that struck the area a week ago (Tuesday night, February 28).

The tornadoes are broken down by four in Illinois/Indiana, and (not shown here) two in Kentucky, which sourced material comes from this web page at weather.com

Perryville, Mo.

Tornado 1 was considered the Perryville, Missouri, tornado. This one touched down 4.8 miles west/northwest of Perryville in Perry County, Missouri, which is bordered to the east by the Mississippi River. Perryville, in the northwest part of town, suffered some of the worst damage: Five homes in that area were leveled. NWS says the damage path showed multiple vortex characteristics with ground striations/scarring to bare ground in Perry  County near the Mississippi. This is the longest tornado track in the Paducah NWS forecast area since April 22, 1981. Below is the map:

The 1925 Tri-State Tornado, the grandaddy of all tornadoes ever to strike the country (and which Ang wrote a book about many years ago), actually went through Perry County, nearly leveling the village of Biehle, which is situated to the south and west of Perryville. The Perryville tornado last week was on the ground from 7:55 to 8:57 p.m.. It had an EF-4 rating, with estimated peak winds of 180 mph, and had a maximum width of .6 miles. There were 12 injuries in Perryville's storm, and one death: Travis M. Koenig, 24, from Perryville, was driving out on Interstate 55 when the tornado struck his car and rolled it several times, killing him.

Crossville, Ill.

The tornado that struck the area outside of Crossville in White County is considered tornado No. 2. This one has been confirmed by NWS as an EF-3, with highest vortex winds of 152 mph. The track showed a maximum width of 400 yards, with a path of 44.6 miles uninterrupted.

This tornado, said NWS, made a first touchdown 4.2 miles northeast of Carmi at 9:54 p.m. and was on the ground from that time until 10:45 p.m. It traveled across and out of White County, Illinois, across the Wabash River, entered Gibson County, Indiana, and continued into Posey County, Indiana, until it lifted 1.3 miles south/southeast of Oakland City, Indiana. In that time, it damaged or destroyed 35 structures from homes to farm buildings to mobile homes in White County. NWS said that one home two miles east of Crossville, which was severely damaged, was also hit by the Tri-State Tornado. This tornado damaged or destroyed approximately a dozen homes in Posey County and produced some sort of damage, ranging from destroyed to minimal damage, to 106 structures in Gibson County. It crossed Interstate 64 near the 10 mile marker. Notably, the Tri-State Tornado, upon departing the Crossville/Phillipstown area, crossed the Wabash, but a little closer to Grayville, following a track more northerly than this one...and as a result it slammed into Griffin, Indiana, nearly destroying the entire village.

Last Tuesday's Crossville tornado injured two and claimed the life of one: Thomas McCord, 71, who sought shelter in an outbuilding on his property, which we covered at this link.

Williamson County, Ill.

Tornado No. 3 was in Williamson County, as shown in the map below:

This tornado touched down at 10:41 p.m. 2.2 miles southeast of Carterville, Illinois, and lifted at 10:54 p.m. 3.5 miles north of Marion, Illinois. It was rated at an EF-1; with estimated peak vortex winds of 95 mph. The damage path was 7.5 miles with a maximum width of 25 yards, and it produced mainly tree damage consisting of broken tree branches with a few uprooted trees. There were no injuries or deaths attributed to this tornado.

Jackson Co., Ill.

And then the last tornado of February 28, 2017, was in Jackson County. Considered an EF-0, it touches down at 10:25 p.m.8.4 miles west/southwest of Carbondale, and lifted at 10:30 p.m. 4.5 miles west of Carbondale. With estimated peak winds of 75 mph, a path length of 4.1 miles, and a maximum width of 25 yards, it produced mainly tree damage consisting of broken tree branches. Below is the track map:

The Tri-State Tornado also struck Jackson and Williamson counties, but in different areas. In Jackson, it famously crossed the river from Missouri (Perry County) and struck Gorham, traveled east where it decimated the west and south side of Murphysboro, and proved to be terribly deadly both in Murphysboro and DeSoto. In Williamson County, the tornado struck the little mining town of Bush in the northwest corner of the county, before traveling northeast into Franklin County. The Tri-State Tornado took place on the afternoon of Wednesday, March 18, 1925. You can check out material on it here and here.

Dr. Greg Forbes last week stated he believed the storms coming up on February 28 might track the same as the Tri-State Tornado...and he was right. Several Missouri, Illinois and Indiana counties were impacted by both storms 90-some years apart. The anniversary of that storm is coming up...and it doesn't look like storm season is over. So be watchful...have a plan...and don't think you'll be able to depend on the government. Self-sufficiency is where it's at.

CARBONDALE — Keep Carbondale Beautiful will be selling native trees and shrubs in the SIU Arena Parking Lot, outside the Home and Garden Show on April 2-3. 

All the plants will be native to the area, which means they are better suited to the local environment and provide habitat for native species of birds, butterflies, etc. 

The Keep Carbondale Beautiful website lists all the trees that will be for sale, plus other natives that are hard to find and can be pre-ordered.

Executive Director Sarah Heyer was quick to reassure people that they are not purists, “If you let us know by March 20th, we will special order any tree, native or not … well, not invasives. We can suggest alternatives to the ornamental pear, for example.”

Most trees sell for $30 and most shrubs for $20 each. Pre-ordered trees get a discount. The expected inventory is displayed on the website keepcb.org/tree-sale.  Other trees and shrubs can be ordered by contacting KCB at 618-525-5525 or keepcb1326@gmail.com.

MARION, Ill. - Marion Police have released a little bit more information about the charges against Steve Reiter, whose arrest last night was featured in this post at the site.

MPD said that Reiter, 49 of rural Marion, was arrested for Possession of Controlled Substance at Sound Bar located in E. Main Street on March 7. An Illinois State Liquor Control Commissioner was on scene to investigate complaints and had requested Marion Police assistance upon discovery of a controlled substance.

Reiter, we've learned, posted $500 cash bond and has already been released. A mug shot will follow as the case progresses.

In other police activity, here's the report covering the time frame of March 2-7, 2017:

Stephanie Garland, 28 of Marion has been arrested for Violation of an Order of Protection in the 2600 block of W Main St on March 2.

Michael Atkinson, 22 of Marion has been issued a city ordinance citation for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia following a traffic stop in the area of Liberty St and Main St on March 3.

Elizabeth McGee, 22 of Carterville has been arrested for Possession of Methamphetamines following a traffic stop in the area of S. Hadfield St and Hillcrest St on March 3.

Scott Hoffard, 27 of Carbondale has been arrested for Possession of Methamphetamines, Possession of Controlled Substance and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia in the area of S Hadfield and Hillcrest St on March 3.

Stacy Manning, 31 of Herrin has been arrested for Possession of Methamphetamines, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and Possession of Controlled Substance in the 2600 block of W DeYoung St on March 3. An additional citation was issued for Bringing Contraband into a Penal Institution.

Desrea Kasper, 26 of Chester has been arrested for Domestic Battery in the 700 block of N Harper St on March 4.

Stephen Gordon, 58 of Rantoul has been issued citations for Improper Lane Usage, Driving Under the Influence, Failure to Signal within 100 ft. and Disobeying a Stop Sign on March 4, in the area of N Market and Union St.

Jason Eddy, 39 of Marion has been arrested for Possession of Methamphetamines, Possession of Controlled Substance, Possession of Cannabis, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and Domestic Battery in the 1000 block of W Cherry St on March 5,.

Amy Moore, 36 of Marion has been arrested for Endangering the Life/Health of a Child on March 5, in the 1000 block of W Cherry St.

Jason Jarrett, 44 of Harrisburg has been arrested for Criminal Trespass to Property in the 2600 block of W DeYoung St on March 6.

Denise Harrison, 56 of Marion has been arrested for Aggravated Battery to a Nurse at Heartland Regional Medical Center on March 7.

Charles Kaegi, 33 of Marion has been arrested for Use of Intoxicating Compounds in the 1200 block of Enterprise Way on March 7.

Gregory Morse, 30 of Marion has been arrested in the 1800 block of Bittle Place for Domestic Battery.

From Clint Green's Facebook page

U.S. DISTRICT COURT, BENTON, Ill. - A former Pulaski County, Ill., man who had previous worked as a school principal until criminal allegations arose against him has been indicted on child porn counts federally.

Clint Wade Green, 42, now of Paducah, Ky., was indicted on February 23, 2017 on four counts of receipt of child pornography. That case is set for trial on April 24, 2017 in Benton. Green has been ordered detained pending trial. 

The indictment alleges that in October 2015 on four separate occasions, Green knowingly received materials that contained child pornography in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2252A(a)(2)(B). If convicted, Green faces a prison sentence of not less than five years and up to 20 years on each count, a fine of up to $250,000, and up to three years supervised release. 

The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI in Marion. The Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General, the Illinois State Police, and the Paducah Kentucky Police Department also participated in this investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney James G. Piper, Jr.

In 2008, Green, while principal at St. Cecilia Catholic school in Independence, Kentucky, was caught on video taking cash from St. Cecilia Church collection baskets and charged with a felony, of which he was later convicted. He had taught at the school for two years prior to ascending to principal.

Green was formerly with the Pulaski County Development Association as Executive Director (2010), but departed that position for unknown reasons.

He was also, as of 2014, a member of the board of education for Century High School in Ullin, despite being a convicted felon; he had been appointed to the position of board member, so apparently the other members of the board either didn't know or didn't care that a felon couldn't hold the position.

Most recently, Green had been acting in the capacity of 'high school faith formation coordinator' (late 2015) in Paducah, although it remains unclear exactly which high school. Green could not be reached for comment for this article.

SALINE CO., Ill. - Information has been submitted from the Saline County State's Attorney's office showing the recent sentencings to Illinois Department of Corrections for the month of February, 2017.

Jason A. Sanders was sentenced on February 3 by Judge Walden Morris to two and a half years in IDOC and one year mandatory supervised release (MSR, or parole) for the offense of Possession of Controlled Substance.

Kayla Johnson

Kayla N. Johnson was sentenced on Feb. 3 by Judge Morris to four years in IDOC and a year of MSR for the offense of Methamphetamine Possession.

Harold Mitchell

Harold E. Mitchell was sentenced on Feb. 6 by Judge Morris to five years in IDOC and one year MSR for the offense of Unlawful Possession of Weapon by Felons.

Roger Hedger

Roger D. Hedger was sentenced on Feb. 8 by Judge Mark Clarke to 10 years in IDOC and four years MSR for the offense of Aggravated Criminal Sexual Abuse. In addition, Hedger must register as a sex offender. This material was previously covered in this post.

And Jonathan L. Trout was sentenced on Feb. 16 by Judge Morris to four years in IDOC and one year MSR for the offense of Unlawful Failure to Report Change of Address as a Sex Offender. Trout has been in IDOC since being sentenced out of Hamilton County for the same thing. Charges against him in Richland County are still pending; he goes by "John Earp" on Facebook if anyone's interested.

MARION, Ill. - Another successful set of arrests have taken place after the newly-formed Marion Police Department Narcotics Unit executed search warrants yesterday.

The MPDNU lead the execution of the search warrants Thursday (March 10) which included tactical entries at both residences, with the assistance of the Marion Police Department Emergency Response Team.

The first search warrant execution took place in the 1100 block of Midway Court. Officers located a felony amount of cannabis, drug paraphernalia and weighing equipment.

Alfonso M. Nelson, 33, and Bobby R. McGregory, 59, were arrested for Possession of Cannabis with Intent to Deliver.

The second search warrant took place in the 400 block of E. Illinois Street. Officers located crystal methamphetamine (ice), drug paraphernalia, packaging and weighing equipment. 

From Robert Weir's Facebook page

Robert A. Weir, 58, was arrested for Distribution of Methamphetamine; Stefany J. Webb, 35, was arrested for Possession of Methamphetamine; Richard K. Cooper, 45, was arrested for Possession of Methamphetamine; Adawnya D.A. Solomon, 24, was arrested for Possession of Methamphetamine and an outstanding felony warrant out of Saline County, Illinois. 

All of the arrested subjects reside at the above-mentioned residence.

The above-mentioned subjects were arrested and transported to the Williamson County Jail without incident, awaiting future court proceedings.

A shot of the ambulance yesterday at the hospital

CARBONDALE, Ill. - The latest in the ongoing shootings in Carbondale has left a Johnston City man dead, and as of this afternoon, authorities have identified a Carbondale man as a suspect.

The shooting happened yesterday (Thursday, March 9) at about 5:30 p.m. in the 400 block of East Willow Street, outside a community center facility, the Eurma C. Hayes Center.

Shot was Javon T. Trott, 19, of Johnston City. He was taken to Memorial Hospital in Carbondale, but was pronounced dead there.

Jarrell J. Pullen, Jackson County mugshot

Following a brief investigation authorities learned that Trott had been involved in an altercation with Jarrell J. Pullen, 22, of Carbondale (although sources in Carbondale advise that Pullen is originally from the East St. Louis area) just before the fatal shooting.

A charge of First Degree Murder has been filed and a million-dollar bail has been set with the arrest warrant for Pullen, who apparently as of this afternoon was still at large.

Carbondale has been plagued with increasing gun violence in the past three or four years or so, as you can see at this link. Many of the thugs come in on the train and their bad habits have bled over into other areas, like Marion and Harrisburg, the latter of which recently experienced what locals have termed "gang-related shootings."

If more information becomes available, we'll update. Be watching.